Perceptions of Reality

The beliefs one holds, the ones one truly believes are what creates our perception of reality. Thus, reality is what we believe it to be!

If you move away from being the source of your beliefs, your past or whatever dogma, rhetoric and media hype is playing takes over what you believe.

Taking responsibility of being the source of your beliefs empowers you to be in charge of your life. Blaming others is looking for who was source and empowers others to dictate your perceptions, awareness and behavior. People can become stuck in the past to provide answers. Reversing the flow and giving answers to the past can be a powerful transformational process.

Are the beliefs you hold helpful or unhelpful; deliberately created or indoctrinated?

To determine if the beliefs you hold are helpful or harmful; deliberately created or indoctrinated complete the following exercise.

• List the five most important things you believe about yourself
• List the five most important things you believe about relationships
• List the five most important things you believe about money

After each belief, note if you experience the belief as helpful (+) or unhelpful (-)—note which beliefs are helpful or unhelpful. Do these beliefs reflect your perceived experience? If so, how? Write the helpful or unhelpful impact for each belief.

Next note which beliefs were deliberately created by you (D), or which are the result of indoctrination (IND). Indoctrination could be the result of family history, family culture, family dynamics, education, community, religion, or birth order—oldest, second oldest, middle, youngest or only child. Whatever the IND was gives you insight into what prompted you to incorporate them as your beliefs.

The equation for each of us is: Awareness plus primal creation equals essential self. Essential self is expressed as, "I am." Identity consists of and is defined by the additional layers of beliefs that are added to our essential self.

If these beliefs were indoctrinated and are unhelpful, then you are swimming up stream versus being our essential self. Thus, the wise person eliminates these indoctrinated and unhelpful beliefs from their mind. The question becomes—"What Do I Want to Believe?"

Resource: Designing Our Own Reality, Harry Palmer